Don't Think I've Forgotten
by The Prophet Lemonade
Summary: Byakuya Kuchiki does not celebrate Valentine's Day and doubts the possibility that he ever will. After all, what is the point when the one he celebrated with is not around anymore? Perhaps this tragic holiday is not as tragic as he deems it. Pre-Bleach.


**Author's Note: It's been a while since I've written anything. I missed Valentine's Day because I was in New Hampshire, so this fic is slightly belated. I've been writing a lot of Bleach off the computer lately, so I thought it was about time to post some up here.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach and all the associated characters belong to Tite Kubo.**

**Title: Don't Think I've Forgotten**

**--**

"_Bya-ku-ya! I have a present for you!"_

"_What is it now?"_

"_It's a kiss, you ninny!"_

_**--**_

The one hundred and something years since that day seemed almost ten times as long to Byakuya Kuchiki, who rested peacefully at his desk, a pile of finished paperwork stacked to his right.

February fourteenth was his least favourite day of the year. Captain Yamamoto had adopted the holiday of Valentine's Day from the human world some time ago, but it all seemed rather pointless to the noble.

The sound of someone stumbling, followed by a string of unnecessary curses alerted the Captain to the presence of his tattooed Lieutenant.

"Abarai. What are you doing now?"

It was a few moments before the red haired emerged, an overflowing box of red and pink items sitting uncomfortably in his arms. His face was almost the colour of his hair and his cargo, however.

"What are they?" Byakuya questioned, coldly, as Renji dumped them on his desk, loudly, disturbing the thin layer of dust that had settled there.

"Valentine's gifts," he mumbled, avoiding the unwavering gaze of his Captain. "Found 'em in my locker this morning… all three hundred and nineteen of them…"

"I didn't realize you were so popular, Abarai," the Kuchiki replied, his tone still emotionless.

"Me neither," Renji muttered back, "What about you; did you get anything?"

"I don't celebrate Valentine's Day."

"S-sorry, didn't mean to pry."

Renji turned, finding it the safest idea to leave his icy Captain to his own thoughts. He didn't want to turn into cherry blossom food. If that was even possible anyway.

--

"_What is it?"_

"_It's a Valentine's card, you idiot. Haven't you ever seen one?"_

"_I have had no need to. Why do you have it anyway?"_

"_It's for you, duh. Little Byakuya is so dense sometimes!"_

--

The air was surprisingly cool on the pale face of the Sixth Company Captain; warm for a February morning at least. He figured it good to get a breath of fresh air; no doubt he'd feel sick of all the silly romantics if he remained inside.

Upon hearing the sound of laughter, he paused to stop, looking up from his path to see the Third Captain, Gin Ichimaru, and the Tenth Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, together, someway off, under the bow of a blossoming sakura tree.

Gin held a large, overly-wrapped parcel in his arms, covered in sparkly, crimson paper and decorated with a multitude of gold stars. Rangiku, on the other hand, clutched dearly to her chest a palm sized, velveteen box, simply tied with a strand of non-matching ribbon.

The sight made the noble Captain groan, and he diverted his attention. The fact that the fox like bastard that was the Third Captain could find someone so special made him feel sick to the core. It was ironic, to say the least.

--

"_Where are you going?"_

"_Nuh-uh, I can't tell you Little Byakuya!"_

"_Why not?"_

"_It'll spoil your surprise later, of course!"_

--

"Byakushi! Byakushi!" the shrill voice of the pink haired Eleventh Lieutenant chirped, somersaulting over the head of Byakuya, to land directly in front of him, causing him to come to a stop once more. "Byakushi! Look what Ken-chan got me for Valentine-chan's Day!"

The Captain faked a look of mild interest.

"Go on then."

"A lollypop, Byakushi!" she cheered, thrusting a multi-coloured, swirled candy up in his face, or as close to his face as she could reach. (This was not very close, however, regarding her limited reach.) "Aren't you jealous, Byakushi? Ken-chan reaaally loves me!"

Byakuya replied with a quiet murmur of acknowledgement, before sidestepping to the side to walk around her.

"Byakushi! Where are you going, Byakushi!?"

--

"_So? Does it taste good?"_

"_It's… sweet. Is it candy?"_

"_Yup! It's from the human world; they call it chocolate."_

--

"Kuchiki-sama, could you c-catch that for me?"

Yet again, Byakuya's peace was disturbed, as a round, pink covered present made gentle contact with his foot. He bent to retrieve it, before handing it back to its owner, the Fifth Lieutenant, Momo Hinamori.

A wicker basket hung on her forearm, filled with about a dozen other gifts of the same attire. From the labels he could see, she was going to have a busy day; tracking down all of Aizen, Renji, Kira and Histugaya would probably take her until the evening at least.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-sama," she smiled heartfully, bowing to show her gratitude. "Are you having a good Valentine's Day?"

Her politeness always seemed strange to the noble Captain, and it only felt awkward talking to her. He wondered how Aizen put up with her so much – even Renji was a handful.

"Valentine's Day is a stupid holiday. I don't believe in the concept."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't h-have asked you, Kuchiki-sama," she apologized, somewhat frantically, bowing again. "I should probably go…"

--

"_That's a lot of presents you've got. Who're they for?"_

"_Nosey today, aren't we? Well, let's see… this one's for Soi Fon, here's Kisuke's… oh, and I've got one for you."_

--

Coming to a stop, Byakuya welcomed the shade of a cherry tree, and decided it a good place to rest a while, away from the hustle and bustle of the holiday. With so many interruptions, his thoughts were all scrambled, mixed with thoughts from the past and images of Valentine's gone by.

"Can I sit with you?"

He could have groaned in annoyance, if it weren't for his proper upbringing. Couldn't a Captain get any peace? The face of Sosuke Aizen appeared at his level; at least his interrupter wasn't someone as irritating as it could be.

"What brings you here, Aizen?"

"The same reason as you – some peace and quiet. It certainly is chaotic today."

The two Captains sat in silence for sometime, enjoying the quiet and relaxing feeling. It was a comfortable silence; Aizen was a man of little words after all.

"I presume you're not celebrating today?" the bespectacled man asked, breaking the calm. "When was the last time you celebrated, Byakuya? Before Hisana died?"

"I haven't celebrated for over one hundred years, and I don't intend to again," the Kuchiki murmured, almost as if he were talking to himself. "Hisana and I never celebrated – she seemed to accept it with grace, being the woman she was."

"Can I ask what caused the sudden change of heart?"

The Fifth Captain did not receive a response, and so took that as a sign to drop the topic of conversation. He instead busied himself with unwrapping a gift he had plucked from the sleeve of his hyori; one of the set Hinamori had been handing around earlier.

Byakuya watched from the corner of his eyes, slightly curious to see what the contents were. It turned out to be a cupcake, decorated with pink icing and candy hearts, most likely baked by the timid Lieutenant that morning, at some ridiculously early hour.

"I should probably head back," Byakuya said, standing immediately. He was never really one for sweet treats anyway. "I don't want Abarai getting unnecessarily worried."

"Yes, I should probably go too."

--

"_Here, this is yours."_

"_What? What's the occasion?"_

"_I'm going somewhere… and it'll be a while before you see me again. Think of it as a goodbye present."_

"_You're going with him, aren't you?"_

"_He has a name, Byakuya."_

"_I hate him."_

"_Don't hate Kisuke. He's special to me. Will you say goodbye?"_

"_No."_

"_Hmph… you'll have to grow up sooner or later, Little Byakuya."_

--

The office was dark by the time he returned; the box of Renji's cards still in the same spot he had left them. Ignoring the light switch, Byakuya made his way to his chair and collapsed into it. Valentine's Day was such an emotionally draining day for him. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, but only to be greeted by her chocolate face behind his eyelids. There was no getting rid of it: that was for sure.

"B-Byakuya-nii-sama…"

He opened one eye to peer at his young sister-in-law, a fact which the petite shinigami did not know yet.

"Yes? What do you want?" His words came out with more spite than he intended, but he was growing tired and cared little.

"I was… worried about you, Nii-sama," Rukia spoke, averting her gaze to the floor. "Captain Aizen said you weren't feeling very well."

"I'm feeling fine. It doesn't concern you."

"F-forgive me… but a-are you missing… Lady Hisana…?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"Well… I just thought… you seem kind of lonely. And it must be even worse… today. Captain Ukitake told me you don't celebrate Valentine's Day, Nii-sama. H-has that been the case since Lady Hisana died? Do you feel that Valentine's is p-pointless nowadays?"

Byakuya breathed deeply, inhaling the fine scent of the cherry blossoms outside his window. It troubled him that he could be read so easily, even if it was the sister of the person who had known him more than he knew himself. It troubled him how she had pin-pointed the very heart of his pain, even if she was still slightly off. It wasn't ever going to be Hisana who caused him this heartache; she could never hurt a fly. It was her. The demon cat of his childhood.

"Byakuya-nii-sama…?"

"You are dismissed. I don't want to hear anymore."

He listened to her light footsteps as they quickly exited from the room, but they stopped halfway and turned around again, but approached his desk again with some caution.

"C-Captain Ukitake gave me this… it's addressed to you."

Rukia pulled a simple, white envelope from her sleeve, but after not receiving a response, she left it neatly next to his stack of papers and fled the room.

Byakuya waited until her spiritual energy had left the building, before leaning forward and retrieving his letter. The smell of feline on the paper was overpowering and his fingers suddenly became surprisingly numb. Swiftly, he peeled back the seal and produced a cream-coloured card, decorated plainly with a pink heart on the front. Two sentences lined the inner pages.

_Happy Valentine's Day, Little Byakuya._

_Don't think I've forgotten._

If one had looked close enough, they would have seen the corners of the noble Captain's lips creep up into a subtle smirk.

"Neither have I."

--

**Fin.**


End file.
